HTC’s Vive Wireless Adapter, which was first unveiled at CES earlier this year, doesn’t have either a price or precise launch date yet (HTC recently said ‘late summer’), but now a setup manual has appeared on the company’s UK-facing site that details the process of installing the Intel-powered WiGig transmitter.

Uncovered by Reddit user ‘PickledJesus’, the page details the entire setup process. While you’ll probably want to read the actual web page during setup—whenever the adapter arrives on your doorstep—here’s a quick breakdown anyway of the things you’ll need to do:

The Vive Wireless Transmitter, which transmits video and audio signals wirelessly to your headset, is said to come with a PCIe WiGig card that you’ll have to install into your desktop. After installing the included WiGig card, you then hook up the wireless link box and clip it to your monitor.

From there, you’ll need to follow the individual instructions on how to mount the adapter to your Vive headset, whether it be an original Vive with standard floppy headstrap, the original Vive with Deluxe Audio Strap, or the new Vive Pro. Both original Vive setups seem fairly straight forward, with some Velcro and shorter cables to faff about with.

SEE ALSO
Meta CTO: Android XR Rejected Due to Google's "restrictive" Terms & Plans to Fragment XR

The Vive Pro, the website says, doesn’t come stock with the necessary bits and bobs to attach to the Vive Wireless Adapter however, so you’ll actually have to purchase an additional package called ‘Attach Kit for Wireless Adapter’. Pricing isn’t available yet, but it’s an absolute mystery why they aren’t including it as a free add-on after users have already shelled out $800 for the headset alone, which doesn’t include new 2.0 SteamVR base stations or refreshed 2.0 Vive controllers.

Image courtesy HTC

Lastly, you’ll need to install the Vive Wireless software and you’re hypothetically done with setup and hopefully ready to cut the cables for good.

One interesting side note: to power the wireless experience, the website claims you should only ever use the HTC QC 3.0 Power Bank, a 10,050mAh battery with Quick Charging capabilities. At $80, this is nearly double the price of a similar Anker power bank however, and the company hasn’t specified exactly why it’s so important that users shell out the extra money.

The Vive Wireless Transmitter still hasn’t hit the FCC, which is usually the last step before commercialization. So while it may not be landing on doorsteps yet, it appears we’re inching ever closer to the device’s eventual launch date. In the meantime, check out our latest hands-on here from our time with the near-finalized version of the device, as seen at E3 last month.

Newsletter graphic

This article may contain affiliate links. If you click an affiliate link and buy a product we may receive a small commission which helps support the publication. More information.


Well before the first modern XR products hit the market, Scott recognized the potential of the technology and set out to understand and document its growth. He has been professionally reporting on the space for nearly a decade as Editor at Road to VR, authoring more than 3,500 articles on the topic. Scott brings that seasoned insight to his reporting from major industry events across the globe.
  • ‘Attach Kit for Wireless Adapter’. Incredible.

    • SandmaN

      Yeah seriously – eff you HTC…. eff you. Worst company ever with the worst customer service and support.

      • johngrimoldy

        It’s odd. For such a good product, they really *do* have absolutely shiatty support.

        • Don Reba

          Well, it’s designed by Valve. HTC is just the manufacturer.

    • Mike

      I heard you’ll also have to buy a special “Connect Kit” to connect the “Attach Kit” to the Vive Pro. Only $100 extra.

    • Judotoss

      Don’t forget to purchase the adapter for the adapter… This fucking company, man. The upgraded audio strap is so cheap, but they charge 100$. Mine broke the first day and needed to be super glued back together… I love the vive, don’t get me wrong, but they are so money grubbing it isn’t even funny.

      • ummm…

        hopefully valve ends up making and providing customer support for its own headset. but that may be years away if ever. i still have my original vive from launch and nothing has moved me to upgrade anything. im even apathetic about the new controls and wireless set. im just not in the mood to give them more money.

  • eckehard

    …den obigen Erläuterungen zum Wireless Adapter für die VIVe und evtl. 2019 für die Rift ist wohl n i c h t s mehr hinzuzufügen …
    Ich hoffe nur noch auf die .. Santa Cruz !!!

    • Samantha Green

      Absolutely correct…das geht wirklich gar nicht :-)

  • SandmaN

    So many of us are still so pissed that after almost 4 months they *still* don’t have any accessories for sale for the Vive Pro, meaning if your new proprietary All-in-one cable or new proprietary link box dies your are completely SOL.

    The Vive Pro headset is $800 FOR JUST THE HEADSET and now they want to charge us even MORE for an ‘Attach Kit for Wireless Adapter’? That should be included in the box with the wireless adapter, no additional charge, no questions asked.
    HTC = COMPLETE FAIL

    • JJ

      not complete fail, it sucks but its still them trying new technology out. just because you can’t afford the way overpriced shiny attachments doesnt really make them shit, it just makes them shittily over priced.

      • SandmaN

        Never said that I can’t afford them nor that the attachments were “shit” – what’s shitty is that HTC being one of the worst companies insofar as their customer service and effing their customers in the A on their prices and then nickel and dime-ing everyone *again* to make them pay for another extra attachment just to make their new unreleased wireless adapter work. Complete and total bullshit for something that should be included free of charge with the wireless adapter. Horrible, shitty, money-grubbing company right up there with the Bethesdas of the world.

        I’ll say again – it’s been 4 months since the Vive Pro has been released and *still* NO proprietary all-in-one cables or link boxs for sale for it.
        ***TOTAL FAIL***

  • Firestorm185

    HTC, EA of the hardware world, causing it’s customers to shell out the cash for required features locked behind pay walls.

  • Nadim Alam

    WHAT!! Ive been really looking forward to this for a year now, but what the hell is this PCIe WiGig card?!?!? What if i dont have the space on my motherboard for it? I remember i installed the USB extension one last year as i ran out of USBs but dont remember if i had any more space in there for any other additional card :(

    • Zerofool

      In theory, you should be able to use a M.2 slot to PCIe adapter if you happen to have a free one on your MB.
      Having a Mini-ITX MB, I’m in the same boat.

      • IanTH

        I had this same thought, but on top of using the adapter we’d likely need to use a PCI extension as well. Then find a way to stash everything somewhat neatly. I’m a Rift guy, but hoping that when Oculus comes out with their solution that it won’t also require a PCIe card. Problem for another day…

    • pSynrg

      If you don’t know such basic information about your own PC then perhaps this is too advanced a topic for you?

      • Andrew Jakobs

        Oh yeah, because people who already have some extra cards in their PC should still remember if they have slots free… get a life..

      • Nads

        LOL, this is an advanced topic because i cant remember if my motherboard has free slots? Wow man you make a lot of sense!

        • pSynrg

          That’s my point (which appears also to be too advanced to comprehend). If you don’t know something so simple, such as how many free PCIe slots your PC may have, then I imagine you’ll find basic counting operations difficult.

          Here’s are some advanced instructions:

          How many PCIe slots does the motherboard provide?

          How many of those PCIe slots are occupied by ‘something’?

          Subtract this number from the number of PCIe slots the motherboard provides.

          The result should be equal to the number of free or empty PCIe slots on the motherboard.

          Is this more than or equal to the number of PCIe slots requried?

          I’m guessing we may have lost you at this point, but hopefully these super advanced instructions may help others.

          • Nads

            You seriously need a life dude, get out more! Best of luck to you in life, as you definitely are someone who sounds like they need it!

            PS: If you think these are advanced instructions then it clearly shows your a teenager still in high school, sorry i have no further time for you.

          • G-man

            wow

      • JJ

        …yeah about that. Maybe some of us get new pc’s and haven’t been working with the same one for the last 10 years like you. So sorry if we forget what our new Mobo’s PCie capacity is, were not all as poor as you and have to stick with the same mobo for so long… if you’re gona be a pretentious dick, then we can be too.

        • G-man

          thats a stretch, careful you dont pull a muscle.

        • IanTH

          I mean, the newer the PC the more up-to-date I’d imagine one would be with the specs of their machine lol. I definitely think HybridEnergy was off base with the level of snark, but this didn’t really help anything either.

      • HybridEnergy

        Hahaha, don’t mind the butt hurt. It’s kind of true, how the hell are you interested in such tech when you don’t even know if you can fit another PCI slot. What do people expect the wireless solution to use? a key chain usb stick to run the entire thing? lmfao

    • dk

      yeah that was known a long time ago ….and u really need this one for the vive pro not for other headsets ….for the vive and rift u can use tpcast which also works with laptops and other pcs that don’t have that port
      so between the tpcast and this …there isn’t a perfect solution …but it’s something

  • lnpilot

    Why does it have to be so huge? It’s just a receiver, after all. It’s not like it has to transmit at a hight power.
    And custom PCIe card? What the hell?
    Just accept DP + USB.
    Pretty disappointing.

    • Zerofool

      The communication is bi-directional, the kit sends back all the tracking, etc. data that usually travels through the USB link.
      I think the shape and size are optimized to offer better coverage. WiGig (60GHz) requires direct line of sight (or using tricks like reflecting the signal from near-by walls) so they apparently did their best to minimize occlusion and maximize signal strength in the most common usage conditions.

      • Peter Hansen

        That is exactly the reason for this weird hammerhead kind of design.

    • johngrimoldy

      Honestly, it’s not ready for prime-time. I have seen sooo many tech products over the years that required adapters, doo-dads, and kludges in order to get them to do what you wanted when you were early in the curve. This is no different.

      Look, if you want wireless with your Vive, this is the solution… for now… In 10 years, this will look quaint. I don’t fault anybody that’s wiling to put up with the cost and complication to go wireless NOW. It just seems quite a hassle for relatively minimal payoff.

      • Tyler Soward

        It is a HUUUUUGE pain in the ass, BUT, to ditch the wires I’m game. It’s worth it to me even though I’ll need to swap mobos / case to accommodate not to mention pay a premium for the attachment for the Pro

      • G-man

        a hassle? no more than putting in any pci card in your computer. which if you own a powerful gaming desktop pc and a vr headset and you cant to that in less than 5mins then thats very strange.

        • IanTH

          It’d be a hassle for people with ITX cases or laptops. I have a single PCI slot that is being used for my GPU. So the only potential solution I could think of as an ITX VRer, if I even wanted to use this solution, would be to get an m.2 to PCI adapter, then get a PCI extension cable and then find a way to stash that somewhere. I guess ITX/Laptop VR folk are a niche within a niche, but it would have been nice for them to think of us.

          I’m a Rift guy, but feel for all ITX/Laptop Vivers. Hopefully when Oculus comes out with their adapter it’ll be USB based. If not, I guess we always have TP-Cast…reeeeally hope the next iteration of their wireless kit has the wrinkles ironed out.

          • G-man

            whats the alternative for them to “solve” this? make it be able to run on usb? thats probably never going to happen because of bandwidth limitations

  • PJ

    Even as an Oculus Rift user I’m disappointed, I was expecting big things from this.

    • G-man

      and its suddenly not?

      • PJ

        Its uddenly not what?

        • G-man

          its suddenly not a big thing? it hasnt changed what it is.

          • PJ

            It’s really has

  • johnny

    “PCIe WiGig card that you’ll have to install into your desktop” so it won’t work on laptops then… only on desktop PC… thats sucks!

    • Smokey_the_Bear

      They probably figure, if you have a fancy laptop, you’ll just put it in a backpack, which means you are already “wireless”.

    • ducky wilson

      how about mini-itx people that already use that single slot for the gpu?

    • Andrew Jakobs

      I guess if there is an external WiGig dongle it will also work.

      • Peter Hansen

        Careful, that will be another $199,- if bought from HTC. Just kidding. Not.

  • fuyou2

    HTC FUYOU2.. DO NOT BUY THIS SHIT.. THE ONLY WAY THEY WILL LEARN..

    • Andrew McEvoy

      Lol!

  • Really impressive information in regards to graphic design and I am going to improve my skills for sure. Thanks for the valuable information.

  • Sandy Wich

    Well I guess it’s something for some desperate early adopters.

    Call me when they fix the bugs and release something that’s all in 1 and comes with the native headset instead of needing stupid attachments etc.

    Might be waiting for awhile though.

  • sebrk

    HTC doing their very best in order to lose customers to Oculus. I’ll bet next Oculus release will see a surge in new (pissed off Vive) users. Valve should partner with someone else honestly.

    • Judotoss

      Hey, that just means plenty of discounted vives on Craigslist.

    • JJ

      Nah were gona go with windows mixed reality if anything. Inside out tracking has its flaws but with those price points, easy setup, and Hi-res Screens, oh plus Facebook, is why id go WMR over oculus.

      • daveinpublic

        Microsoft might be selling your data, too.

      • IanTH

        Just for reference, they all do things with your data (assuming that is a concern):

        https://www.windowscentral.com/vr-and-your-privacy-how-are-these-companies-treating-your-data

        I’m not saying don’t be wary of FB. I don’t even use FB anymore, so I have no horse in that race. Just that you have to be careful not to buy into the rhetoric of Oculus being the only potential threat to using your information. Our information is a product. Just about every company that we buy a product from will, in every regard, sell or use our information.

    • HybridEnergy

      Oculus needs 2880 x 1600

  • I bet for an announcement at the ChinaJoy in Shanghai at the beginning of August

  • ummm…

    i dunno. i have my original vive since launch. ive been unmoved to upgrade the HMD or peripherals. Probably has more to do with the fact that nothing feels like it really improves the experience, or its not worth the money to do so.

    • Jerald Doerr

      You try the lens mod… man I love my vive now… It was about $60 got all the parts from ebay.

      • ummm…

        no dude i haven’t. i dont have a 3d printer. what is the effect it gives you? i dont get vr sickness but is this a risk with this mod? do tell. do you have a vive pro to compare it with? this is the mod using a gear vr right?

        • Jerald Doerr

          Man the God ray’s and blurred areas where bugging me so much with the vive I just stopped using it.. after a month I was like might as well give it a shot as my vives just sitting here… I ordered lens holders some guy on ebay made in the US and gear VR bare bone kit for like $60… now I replay all my games in VR and have a refund love for them… this is how VR should be.

          There’s a bunch of info on the web Sweviver I think does the best job with showing results and comparison..

          https://youtu.be/2ckPBhIlkX0

  • Andrew Jakobs

    Ofcourse they’ll say you should only use their overpriced powerbank, they want to sell extra’s.. Just test it first with a cheapass aliexpress version (which a lot are quite excellent, yest there are really terrible ones out there, but even ‘real’ brand batteries sometimes have the tendency not to work properly).

    • Caven

      Fortunately it appears that HTC’s wireless adapter just runs a cable to the battery, so trying orher batteries shoukd work. That’s a big improvement over the TPCast, which has a wireless module contoured to fit a specific battery.

      • G-man

        wouldnt be too hard to get two short usb extension cables and plug them into the power adapte of the tpcast

  • Peter Hansen

    The power bank is actually twice the price of an Anker one with _double_ the capacity (the one for the TPCast). In short: power provided through HTC devices better have 4x the quality leaving you with a 4x better experience. Or people will be really sad about the short battery life of their newly acquired wireless solution.

  • VirtualRealityNation

    I would just like to add this perspective from a longtime user of VR (23 years). Quality Wireless has been the biggest complaint about VR going back over 30 years. I sell VR and AR experiences and by far the biggest complaint from my customers over the years was over the cable, “It’s a tripping hazard” “It’s too short.” “why does it have to have this thick cable?” Call me back when it’s wireless” Circa 2005. Thirteen years later, I will be very happy to install the wireless adapter on my six Vive Pros. Want to know what it costs to build a VR solution close to the Vive in 2005? $75,000 is the correct answer.

    • fuyou2

      Well we don’t live in 2005 do we. So, it’s still a shitty product for Todays’ standard

      • VirtualRealityNation

        I think my point is that it’s taken quite a long time for any company out there to solve the wireless issue, and during that time prices have come down 30 fold. Of course, it could be better, but when you look at the history of VR you have to go back over 50 years. The technical improvements have been slow and intermittent. From an enterprise user’s perspective thing are finally getting more exciting because of the wireless option that just has not been there until (almost) now.

      • G-man

        yeah, you’ve got a better product? better pull it out your arse and sell it, you’ll be a millionaire

  • Tyler Soward

    fuuuuuuuck….. mobo is mini itx…. looks like i’m buying a new case and motherboard :/ not to mention vive pro attachment thing. Oh and then the actual wireless adapter LOL

    This is not a cheap hobby

    • G-man

      plus i’d be surprised if the ireless kit is any less than £600

  • Jerald Doerr

    Wtf.. who deleted my post? Why cuz I said this thing might fix your brain cancer or the exact opposite! I said it twice now!

  • Jason Rodgers

    Ive purchased every HTC Vive product (pre-ordered every launch). Just wanted to say I’m done with HTC n Vive.

    Their product page for the Pro headset includes an entire section on the Wireless features that are still not out…they dont mention that it’s not laptop compatible, nor this additional compatibility kit that’s now apparently required. I hope they get hit with a lawsuit…that’s the most misleading crap and a big reason people like me bought the Pro.

  • STW

    Does the PCIe WiGig card come with a half-height bracket? I’m on a HP Compaq 6300 Pro SFF with the half-height GTX1500Ti. It’s not the best rig but I can play SkyrimVR and watch 3D/VR porn with not too much reprojection…